Finally, a warm welcome to those new members who have joined us for 2012.

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Lucas McLaughlin
5 years ago
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1 Introduction I hope that everyone has had a good winter's training and has lots of miles under their belt for the 2012 season, which will be well underway by the time this lands on your doormat. Commiserations to those who took a tumble on the, thankfully rare, ice this year. Whether you slid and slipped on the ice, braved the gales and rain, or just stayed in the warm on the rollers or turbo I hope you're feeling ready for the races ahead. This season we shall be missing one notable official at the SVTTA events as Jim Harris has hung up his time-keepers hat after many years of service. I'm relieved to report though that Jim will be still be around in other capacities at our SVTTA events. Since the last issue of 'The Veteran' two important Annual General Meetings have taken place. Firstly, at the Scottish Cycling AGM it was confirmed that the ruling that would have seen the adoption of U.C.I. regulations for time trials in Scotland has been revoked. Veterans, particularly those nearing the end of their racing career, were amongst those who would have been worseaffected by this ruling, which could have seen many forced to buy new equipment. It's a great relief to many of our members who can now continue to race on their existing bikes and in their existing positions - both of which may have been developed and tuned over a good number of years! Also at the SC AGM It was reported that the Rules Committee had decided to make compulsory the use of rear lights in all time trials. Although I have seen nothing in writing regarding this as yet, it would make sense to start preparing and finding a way of fitting a rear light to your aero seatpost in readiness for the season ahead. The other AGM was of course the National VTTA AGM at which the proposal to adopt a new set of standards tables was voted in, 22 for and 10 against. Members intending to compete for Standards this season need now to pay particular attention to the new tables as they have a direct influence on what Standard times you now have to achieve. A copy of the adopted Standard Tables was included in the December issue of the Veteran Magazine, and are now also available on the National VTTA website. Later in this article you will find Iain McLeod's report on the AGM. The new Standards are intended to promote fairer competition amongst all veteran age groups and should see fast veterans of all ages competing for our championships and trophies this year. What this also means, of course, is that there has never been a better time to try and recruit new SVTTA members from amongst your clubmates, so let's get to it.. In other news from our membership, Royal Abert's Tommy Bell came off on black ice and spent a few days in Hairmyers Hospital, East Kilbride. He sufferred a badly broken collar bone but will no doubt be well on the road to recovery by now Meanwhile Jackie Connor is making admiral progress following his hip replacement and by coincidence has been receiving physiotherapy from Iain Binning's son. Reportedly, Deeside Thistle past member John O'Donovan has been putting in the miles along with Derek Stewart so maybe we shall see fireworks from him in the coming season. Another DTCC member, John Ramsey also hopes to return to racing in Our website at is slowly coming online and will be improved as the season progresses. If you have any material either for the magazine or the website do please send it to the Press Officer. Finally, a warm welcome to those new members who have joined us for Awards Presentation Our Social Secretary, George Skinner, organised a very successfull evening which saw the function room at McQ's Tartan Arms almost full to capacity. Members enjoyed an excellent meal, with a good choice of dishes on offer, after which the presentation of awards took place. Timetrial Secretary Jim Harris is happy to report that for the first time all certificates and trophies heading to mainland riders were collected in person and none were left to be taken back home.

The following riders collected their certificates, standards and trophies: Sanny Roy Joe McCann Bill Haggart Patricia Baird Robert Cooper Jocky Johnstone Alec Munro Graeme Hay David Miller Isobel

2 The following riders collected their certificates, standards and trophies: Sanny Roy Joe McCann Bill Haggart Patricia Baird Robert Cooper Jocky Johnstone Alec Munro Graeme Hay David Miller Isobel Fletcher Alan Solway George Berwick Allan MacClean David Pritchard George Skinner Frank Gamwell Steve Beech Derek Stewart Steve Nutley After the presentation there was a raffle with some excellent prizes kindly donated by local businesses, after which many of the assembled gathering were to be seen stretching their racing legs on the dance floor! Place-to-place records A note from Jim Harris brings word of a possible revival of interest in Place-to-Place records - a worthy quest in themselves but also a great way of adding interest to those miles that must be ridden over the close season. The following table shows the current record holders: Record Age Rider Year Time Gretna to John 'Groats 46 George Berwick :17:55 Perth to Inverness 48 Alec Duncan :21:34 Glasgow-Dundee-Glasgow 48 Alec Duncan :09:19

3 Glasgow-Stranraer-Glasgow 48 Alec Duncan :51:42 Edinburgh-Berwick-Edinburgh 49 Alec Duncan :47:40 Glasgow-Oban-Glasgow 48 Alec Duncan :06:07 Glasgow-Dumfries-Glasgow 53 Pinky Williams :58:53 Dundee-Oban-Dundee 55 James Soutar :32:19 Glasgow to Perth 68 Ian G. Walls :32:31 Edinburgh-Perth-Edinburgh 77 Morton Bryce :48:47 Rides start and finish at the relevant main Post Office. Although some of these may no longer exist, or be in the same location as when the records were set, it would simply be a case of identifying the former location and using that in any new record attempts. There exists also a comprehensive list of age standards covering the above and other routes which is too lengthy for this article, but I'll endeavour to publish it on our website in the coming days. For any further information on the subject of Point-to-Point records please contact either Jim Harris or Bob Gibson. National VTTA AGM report Iain McLeod and Alex Munro attended the AGM on our behalf, along with Derek Stewart. Here is Iain's report of the proceedings. The National AGM and Prize Presentation was held on 28 th Jan 2012 in the King s Court hotel, near Alcester. This is a rural setting about 15 miles south of Birmingham. Any VTTA member can attend and take part in the discussions. Each group is allowed a number of voting delegates in accordance with the group membership. Scotland group delegates were Iain McLeod and Alex Munro. Also in attendance was Derek Stewart, who would collect the trophy for winning the National Championship 25. Full minutes will be published, so here are some of the main topics. 2. Treasurer s report warning that increased postage stamp price will have significant effect on distribution costs of the magazine and may require increased subs next year. 4b. Rule requires subs to be paid by 31 st March. A motion to change this to 31 st January was lost. 4d. This was the motion to adopt the new Standards Tables. There had been much debate and a Special meeting prior to the AGM. Only a few delegates had a free vote, but there was still a lot of discussion, covering arguments for and against the new Standards. Finally, Frank Kerry of North Lancs & Lakes group summed up the motion simply and clearly: If you want the VTTA to be an organisation that gives a fair opportunity to riders of all ages, genders and abilities, then you should vote for the New Standards. The motion won by 22 votes to 10. 4e to 4n. These motions were identified as being needed to tidy up rules affected by the New Standards. Key points: For the transition to the New Standards, there will be a clean break from the old standards and all riders will be able to claim Standard award for any open event they have ridden. Claims can be made for Minus times or distances. A rider s times / distances for the previous 7 years had to be used to determine if an improvement had been made on standard. This has been reduced to 3 years. I expect that it will take some time before we all, riders, timekeepers, organisers, find out just how the new rules work out in practice. It was explained that the new standards tables should not be considered as set in stone, but should be reviewed regularly to see if changes might be appropriate. Other items Rita and John Montgomery You may already have seen that SVTTA life members Rita and John Montgomery have been hitting

4 the headlines recently, with an article in the national press and mentions on Braveheart and Scottish Cycling websites. The text below is reproduced with the kind permission of the Daily Record. IF Rita and John Montgomery whizzed past you on their bikes, you might not give them a second glance. Like many dedicated cyclists, they ve got the latest colourful gear and hi-tech, lightweight bikes. The only difference is that Rita is 80 and John is 79. And while top cyclists such as Graeme Obree and Sir Chris Hoy may be household names, Rita could be considered the godmother of cycling in Scotland. Through decades of competing she won countless prizes, from Scottish titles to world championships, breaking records and causing upsets along the way. As cycling prepares to get a massive boost from the London Olympics, Rita s story should resonate among fans of the sport everywhere. Born in 1931, she wasn t yet a teenager when she began cycling during the war in Johnstone, Renfrewshire. She said: The Johnstone Wheelers were renting a clubhouse, but when the war started they all went off to fight, so no one was using it. I was 12 when my dad found me an old frame with this big, heavy seat and straight handlebars. Eventually the guys came back from the war and got stuck with all these kids who were using their clubhouse. They would always try to drop me, but they couldn t, so they eventually gave in. Years later, they told me that the reason they didn t want me to go with them was because I was too good and I d give them a showing up. Soon, Rita was competing at events across Scotland, making an immediate impact. I nearly broke the Scottish record in the first-ever 25-mile time trial I did, she said. I was catching up with all these fast women ahead of me and didn t like to pass them because I was too polite. After honing her competitive instinct, the honours started flowing and Rita won a record eight Scottish Best All-Rounder titles, in which riders compete to record the fastest average speeds in time trials. She d train every day by cycling to and from her work as a draughtswoman, but the real dedication came in getting to and from the races. You didn t have transport in those days, so you d have to cycle to the race, she said. If we were going to Perth or Dundee, the girls would meet up in Glasgow where the lorries stopped and see if we could get a lift up the road. Sometimes we d get a lift some of the way, other times we d have to cycle there. But all the training and competing came to an end for Rita in the early 1960s when she gave up competitive cycling to look after her ill mother. And in 1966 she also married husband John, a top cyclist and member of rivals the Chryston Wheelers. It was John who inspired Rita to get back into competing in He said: I d always wanted to buy Rita jewellery but she said if I wanted to buy her something I should get her a new bike. I phoned our friend in Italy and told him I was looking to buy a Colnago the creme de la creme of racing bikes. When Rita saw it, she said she couldn t have a beautiful bike like that and not start racing again. Rita and John set their sights at the top, entering the World Veterans Championships in the Austrian Tyrol in Women can enter veterans races aged 30, so Rita was facing riders up to 19 years her junior. But she was convinced the 40-mile Alpine course would play to her strengths. Rita won, retaining the title in 1981 and winning it for a third time in 1983.

5 John also took bronze in the men s 90-mile race in Rita said: We had good times, roads with no traffic. John added: We regard that as the golden era of cycling. Lanzarote training Steve Beech and Iain McLeod went to Lanzarote in early January for 10 days looking for guaranteed warm weather training conditions. Conditions were up to expectations arm warmers advisable early morning, but 23C typically as the day progressed, 5 minutes of rain one day, but strong winds on a few days. Cycling was mostly in groups, organised by Andy Cook Tours. The groups comprised cyclists with a wide range of age, experience and targets. The support provided included guides in each group, with a car supplying food, water, gels and mechanical assistance on longer runs. Some of the guides were from Andy Cook Tours and some were from Club La Santa. Also in the mix was Magnus Backstedt, winner of Paris Roubaix 2004, now based in UK, with some of his Team UK Youth riders try holding on to his wheel But if you can you get plenty of shelter! Landscape in Lanzarote is a mixture of volcanos and broken up lava with very little greenery. Camels are used to transport tourists to look at volcanoes. Winds from Africa brought over sand clouds. Local winds whipped up mini sand storms in a few places, which gave brake blocks and chains a hard life. Rides varied from 80 km to 160 km with the top group averaging up to 20 MPH. Most rides exceeded 1000 m of climbing and the 500 m Tabeyesco climb featured on several rides. Rapha Condor Sharp team were at the same location for a technical training camp including James McCallum. They, Magnus and other guides took part in some very interesting evening question time sessions. Overall, a good week, with plenty miles cycled in good company, punctuated by discussions on the merits or not of the proposed changes to the Vets standards! Obituary - James (Jimmy) McCallum, Jimmy passed away a few weeks short of his 88th. birthday, having lived his latter days in a care home after the death of his wife in He cycled well into his seventies, meeting up with old clubmates to sunbathe on a Sunday at the Cloch Lighthouse on the shore of the River Clyde with afternoons at the Golf Inn after a cycle run for a quiet beer. In his younger days Jimmy was a track man riding in the colours of the Glasgow Regent and travelling all over to track meetings with the club, picking up numerous prizes including Scottish track championships. On the demise of the Regent Jimmy moved his allegiance to the Glasgow Road Club where, with his lovely manner and always with a smile on his face, he was most welcomed. Jimmy was a Honorary Life Member of the Scottish Group with 38 years membership. Group and club members gathered along with non-cycling friends at the crematorium to bid farewell to Jimmy.

LINLITHGOW KAYAK RACING ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: LOW PORT CENTRE LINLITHGOW 8th MARCH 2010

Present: LINLITHGOW KAYAK RACING ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: LOW PORT CENTRE LINLITHGOW 8th MARCH 2010 Alan Fletcher, Derek Marshall, Nan Marshall, Diane Sharp, Pete Easson, Gareth Smith, Rhonwyn Smith, Cecile